The American Music Awards have come under fire for failing to acknowledge the achievements of female artists, after announcing their decidedly male-leaning list of 2017 award nominees.
In the ceremony’s most prestigious category, Artist of the Year, there isn’t a single non-male nominee. The Chainsmokers, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran are the only acts up for the award — making this the first year since the category was established in 2002 that no female artist has been nominated. Last year, six of the 10 nominatees were female, and Ariana Grande walked away with the crown.
Women are also missing from categories like Video of the Year and Tour of the Year.
Commenters are baffled given the chart dominance of artists like Cardi B, Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift this year. Taylor’s Look What You Made Me Do broke a number of streaming records and Cardi’s Bodak Yellow became the first rap song by a solo woman artist to hit number one since 1998. Now, it’s also the longest-reigning number one hit by a female rapper.
Outside of female-only categories, there’s only three solo women artists nominated. Halsey, who was nominated for Collaboration of the Year for her work with The Chainsmokers on Closer, isn’t happy about the balance. “Really honoured to have received an AMAs nomination,” she wrote on Twitter, “but really disappointed to hear near exclusively male names…such a missed opportunity.” Continuing, “so many incredible female artists have released this year. Hoping the coming award shows give them the credit that is due to them.”